Townsville’s Vacancy Rate seems to be an Issue… for some

January 2015 – Townsville Rent Roll Report

Townsville’s Vacancy Rates for both units and houses have remained at an all time high with a combined overall increase of 5.5%. Read below for more information about the increasing trend of vacant properties in the Townsville area.

Townsville Bulletin – 21 January 2015

On the 21st of January, 2015 the Townsville Bulletin released an article on Townsville’s Vacancy Rate.

The headline stated ‘Rental Vacancy an Issue’.

Vacancy rates in Townsville’s oversupplied residential rental market peaked in July last year and are starting to fall according to Herron Todd White. Median rent rates have also fallen, reducing returns for investors but putting money in the pockets of consumers. Even so, the property consultants say the vacancy rates at Townsville remain high.

In its latest Townsville in Focus report, Herron Todd White puts vacancy rate at 5.5 per cent in overall trend terms. The report says the market still shows sign of oversupply.

“A large distortion in the market has been the expansion of new rental supply that took place over the last 12 months taking advantage of the (Federal Government’s) National Rental Affordability Scheme.” the report says.

Discover Townsville’s Vacancy Rate over the past 12 months.

“Now that new developments under the scheme have come to close we expect the market to progressively return closer to the balanced market range.”

In July, the vacancy rate for units peaked about 9 percent and about 5 percent for houses, failing to 6 per cent for units and less than 4 per cent for houses in October.

The report says the high vacancy rates have put housing rents under significant downward pressure during the past 12 to 18 months.

Herron Todd White says house rents will continue to keep reducing until such time as vacancy rates revert to 3 per cent to 5 per cent or a balanced market level.

Our average vacancy rate for 2014 is 1.46%.

As of 21st January 2015, our vacancy rate is 0.81%. Ask us and we will show you.

If you’re interested in what we offer, give us a call on (07) 4724 1723 and we can help you out.